How Edge32 justifies its name (WITH PHOTO GALLERY)

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Edge32 is the latest addition to what is an "apartment row" taking shape on lower Detroit Avenue on Cleveland's West Side.

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In early 2016, the rising wall of the six-floor north end of Edge 32 hinted at the views it might afford.

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The lobby of the new Cleveland apartment building.

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The east side of Edge32 not only looks at Lake Erie, but the city's downtown skyline.

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The open middle section of Edge32 serves a similar role to the light wells of old buildings: more air and light.

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Some suites offer a small alcove with a view of the waterfront.

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A kitchen island occupies part of the great room in the suites.

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Angular windows in some suites provide some of the edges at Edge32.

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Chip Marous of Vintage Development led the creation of Edge32 in Cleveland's Ohio City neighborhood.

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Cantilevered balconies are another of the "edges" at the project.

The six-story Edge32 is the most recent multifamily building to open on the apartment row that lower Detroit Avenue is becoming in Ohio City.

At 3219 Detroit, the project by Willoughby-based Vintage Development Group draws attention for several reasons beyond its newness and the multimillion-dollar nature of such an investment.

Chip Marous, a principal of Vintage, pointed out several features during a recent tour of the property. Vintage is a real estate development company operated separately from his other high-profile role as one of the brothers who run Marous Brothers Construction, also of Willoughby.

The design by LDA Architects of Cleveland takes cues from the buildng's name, Marous said. Balconies on the West 32nd-street facing side of the building jut from it in an angular fashion. Moreover, a series of angular windows in the middle of the U-shape of the building's six-story wing are a distinct feature. They produce a slightly different sweep to the views of Lake Erie from the building's north side.

The windows sit in bay-style openings in some of the suites.

"It will be a perfect place to enjoy the view, listen to music or read," Marous said. He estimates the design sliced five suites from the 60-unit project that a more conventional floor plan would have allowed. But he argues it's worth it.

"It's all about the product you put on the market," Marous said. "As the (apartment) market gets better you'll see more designs as more companies add buildings."

The north end of the building has its most dramatic feature. All the suites on that side have tall windows facing Lake Erie. They also have balconies as wide as the great rooms in the units.

Edge32 also has a two-step design that maximizes its height on the end facing busy Detroit Avenue and its commercial zoning. The second half of the building consists of a two-story level as it heads south toward the established residential neighborhoods of Ohio City.

Thomas McNair, executive director of the Ohio City Inc. local development corporation, is proud of that feature. The hybrid two-story and six-story design safeguards the residential nature of the property's southern end, he observed, while allowing the builder a height that maximizes the lakefront view.

Just talking about the lake understates the quality of the view, however. The vista includes salt mines, lakers moored on the old riverbed section of the Cuyahoga River, and the red tile roofs of Cleveland's Division Avenue water plant.

"Nothing will ever block that view," Marous observed, because the other side of Detroit there is devoted to the grassy edge of the West Shoreway.

"This city has come a long way," Marous said. "Three years ago, the (prevailing apartment) rents would not have supported construction such as this. But we still have a ways to go to reach rents in other cities."

At Edge32, the suites cost from $1,245 for a one-bedroom, generally with 675 square feet of living space, to as much as $3,200 monthly for the largest two-bedroom two-bath suites, with 1,573 square feet of space.

With another 1,000 apartments going on the market in new and rehabilitated buildings this year in Cleveland, many worry about oversupply. Not Marous.

He believes that if the city can add jobs the pace of multifamily construction could double in a few years.

Vintage is already building another multifamily building at its Battery Park community in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood.

Retailers who refuse to write their own obits

Or at least the stores owned by TJX Cos. (NYSE: TJX) do. The Framingham, Mass.-based company owns T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and other discount stores.

Look for another Marshalls in 2018 at Harvard Park, the shopping center in the Warrensville Heights corner of the Chagrin Highlands real estate development. The store will occupy the former Golfsmith space at the center.

Speaking of DDR, don't be surprised if it disposes of its 53,000-square-foot Kingsbury Center in Chicago. A brokerage flyer promoting its potential reuse as a site for a high-rise residential tower prompted a story from Crain's Chicago Business headlined, "Does it make sense to tear down this shopping center?"

DDR bought the 5-year-old center from another real estate developer.

The Beachwood company has sold a lot of stuff, but the move is a surprise because the center would seem a strong candidate for the real estate investment trust to remake the property itself. DDR CEO David Lukes, in several of his commentaries, has discussed eyeing some of its holdings for "densification" as apartments or other non-strip center redevelopment to seek value for shareholders.

In its most recent conference call July 26 with analysts and investors, Lukes shed some more light on how the shopping center owner's new management team is sizing up its holdings for the long haul. DDR has just started talking about how many visits its centers get to assay which ones it will likely keep in its portfolio. Take that Amazon! Take that, e-commerce!

Usually you think of Forest City Realty Trust Inc. (NYSE: FCE.A) claiming a prized piece of dirt or neat building in a big city.But the Cleveland-based company recently announced it has won a place on the Gender Equality Global Report & Ranking, which the Equileap nonprofit, with offices in London and Amsterdam, produces as part of its push for more gender fairness for women in the workplace.

With a grade of C, Forest City landed in 174th place on the list which boast many titans of commerce. Forest City CEO David LaRue was so proud of the distinction he mentioned it at the close of the company's most recent conference call Aug. 4. LaRue said Forest City is the only U.S. REIT to win such a distinction (many foreign REITs are on the list.)

Finally, John Morikis, CEO of Cleveland-based Sherwin-Williams Corp. fended off queries on the paint maker and seller's July 20 conference call about how large its corporate staff will be as it integrates Valspar's operations with its own.

Scott Rednor of Zelman & Associates of Cleveland charmingly phrased the first question about it as "headcount synergies," according to a transcript on the Seeking Alpha investor site.

That means there is no indication yet of what may be a key factor in determining if Sherwin-Williams looks for a new HQ in Cleveland and we'll have to stay tuned.

Sherwin-Williams has steadfastly declined to discuss such a possibility despite many rumors in real estate circles about the company privately entertaining the idea.

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